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Course: Left Axilla Adenocarcinoma of Unknown Origin

CME Credits: 1.00

Released: 2023-03-16

A 76-year-old woman presented with a palpable left axillary mass. When she was 36 years old, she underwent a hysterectomy due to abnormal uterine bleeding and was taking estradiol to control postmenopausal vasomotor symptoms for the past 20 years. Bilateral diagnostic mammography revealed a high-density irregular mass in the left axilla with no nodules, architectural distortions, or microcalcifications in the breasts. Ultrasonography of the left breast showed a 4.6-cm lobulated mixed cystic and solid left axillary mass. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging showed an enhancing 5.2-cm left axillary mass with no breast lesions (A). The biopsy examination indicated high-grade adenocarcinoma with papillary features (estrogen receptor– and progesterone receptor–positive, ERBB2 [formerly HER2]–negative, and a high Ki67 index). Positron emission tomography/computed tomography revealed only high uptake in the left axilla region. The patient was treated at an outside hospital with neoadjuvant dose-dense doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide, followed by weekly paclitaxel for 10 weeks. She then transferred her care to our center for surgical management. We requested the pathology slides for review at our laboratory and additional immunostaining was performed, which revealed high-grade adenocarcinoma with tumor cells positive for PAX8 (B), p53, and WT1 and negative for GATA3.


Educational Objective
Based on this clinical scenario and the accompanying image, understand how to arrive at a correct diagnosis.


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